Eating baby leftovers--what's up with this?

This is a parenting, in fact GRANDparenting, issue. I could probably recall doing the same thing when my grandchildren's dad was a baby, if I thought about, so here it is. I'm staying with the family for 6 weeks and find myself highly involved in cooking and feeding the two year old twins. I also find myself eating their left overs, scraps, and untouched food choices.  (It's not Gerber's & Beechnut, by the way, but regular food.) This strikes me as rather nutty, certainly bad for my weight loss effort, not to mention germ passing, and a false economy if I rationalize by "waste not, want not." It's getting to be a serious habit! Do other people do this? Somebody stop me!

I admit, when my boys were very little, I did do that a lot.  Heck, I still catch myself doing it every now and then (I mean, that last bite of grilled cheese is too small to wrap up, but too big to throw away, right?)

I try to ward of the tendency by chewing gum when I'm in the kitchen (this also works if I'm cooking/baking anything), drinking a lot of water/iced tea to take up space in my stomach, and reminding myself that it's not my food.   Sometimes it's hard, but I've gotten a lot better in the past couple of years.

I totally do this. My daughter eats a good-sized breakfast and lunch but doesn't eat much at dinner. I always find myself or my husband polishing off her meal. I've just stopped giving her so much food. If she eats all of it, I'll give her more/something else. It's the only way I can stop myself and I typically have very strong will-power!

Guilty.

Germs, shmerms.  A bored immune system is never a good thing.

I had an AWFUL habit of doing this before I started trying to lose weight.  I honestly think this was one of my major downfalls and until I was able to stop, the weight wasn't going to come off.  I really had to practice some serious self control to prevent myself from pciking at her uneaten meal, but I agree, it is tempting. 

Once I started religiously counting calories, it helped me stop for the most part, because I quickly realized how much it could add up. 

Now that I am at my goal weight, I SOMETIMES do it, but still try to practice serious self control when it comes to my daughters uneaten meals. 

I agree with julie, germs... oh well, you are going to pass em around anyway, and worrying about germs with a two year old is really a futile exercise!

never share food or utensils with babies or young children its how we as parents introduce the bacteria that causes tooth decay into our child's mouth!!

I'd love to see the study that shows that sharing food/utensils causes tooth decay. I'll buy putting them to bed with juice/milk, but having a bite of grape then sharing...

lol......................tooth decay?

its my educational background  Im a Preventative Dental Assistant with a focus on maternal and early childhood education.

The bacteria is called Strep Mutans and babies do not have this bacteria present in their mouth we as parents introduce through saliva transfer by sharing food and utensils

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bhealth/0,,46v9,00.html

spuckine,

I've heard about this before.  I'm not sure it applies to eating a child's left overs, but it is a useful bit of info.

It won't stop me from kissing my children, but don't share utensils and toothbrushes.  I can't even imagine denying my children kisses.

Thanks for the great discussion!  Gives me the notion I'm practicing some common behaviors, but better for all of us if I stop them, and you've given me some excellent strategies for doing so.  Chewing gum and tea/water during the feeding process is my fav to try.  And I am "guilty" of utensil sharing as the twins throw one spoon after another overboard while learning to self feed.  It's a whole 'nother world!

thanks for the reference, i had never heard of this. is it possible to decrease the likelihood of cavities thru good oral hygiene? i plan on beginnign a routine with baby right from the beginning even before teeth have erupted. i'm not in the dental field, but have great respect for my teeth and health.

from day one cleanse babies mouth with corner of wet baby face cloth every day.  then when teeth erupt much easier to clean plaque. The drugstores have a great finger tooth brush which makes cleaning baby teeth a snap.   dont use any fluoridated toothpaste until age 2, before then baby tooth paste after 1 yr is fine.  If tooth care is part of daily routine then wont have to fight with toddler when older.  Also the earlier a child goes for dental visits the easier.  Best age for first visit is just after 2nd b-day

Yeah, i agree with some of the other posts. Just feed them smaller amounts. Kids stomachs are roughly the size of one of their fists, so they don't need a adult size portion to fill them up.  

TO sunquest76:

 They have little baby gum/tooth cleansers with a finger brush. It can help sooth a baby's sore gums when they are teething. I use one with my boy, and he loves to gnaw on the brush while it is on my finger!

I had my first visit with a pediatric dentist on Wednesday, though not our boys' first at all.  It was an eye opener for me.  They make it as painless and pleasant for kids beyond anything I could imagine.  Never saw so many toys and balloons!  The boys were examined on Mommy's lap, and she said the dentist was quick, thorough, and informative.  One of our guys requires fluoride treatments over the next three months, but not the other. That's a home application, and Mommy put it on last night; pretty yuchy stuff, unlike the bubblegum training toothpaste and Firefly toothbrushes.  Our fluoride guy hates getting his teeth brushed, but his brother loves doing it himself.

PS I have 99% stopped eating their leftovers, though I did break down and polish the leftover oatmeal this morning (I don't usually have cinnamon and sugar on mine--maybe I should!).  Drinking tea and chewing gum does indeed help.

lol.. my daughter is almost 2 and i do that ALOT.. i think its the fact that we have ( I have) embeded the thought in our heads that we shouldnt waste food.. clean your plate.. i hate throwing food in the trash.. makes me feel bad or something...

I was back at it this Christmas, folks:  eating the babies' rejects when I was visiting again.  AND I noticed their dad, my son doing the same.  He commented about all the food that gets wasted otherwise, so I think tasha's onto the truth!  Not to mention they get more interesting food than I do much of the time:  I don't select fried chicken nuggets or pasta or full fat fruit yogurt for myself, but , hey, can't let it go to waste, can I?!!  Ah, rationalizations!